During the first round of Paris Olympics qualifications at the World Athletics Relays on Sunday, the Indian men's 4x400m team faced a setback as second leg runner Rajesh Ramesh withdrew due to injury, resulting in the team failing to finish their heat race.
Hoping to secure a Paris ticket with a top-two finish in heat number four, the Indian quartet of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Rajesh Ramesh, Muhammed Ajmal, and Amoj Jacob faced a heartbreaking moment when Ramesh left the race midway, clutching his left leg.
Anas had already completed the first leg of the relay.
Details regarding the extent of Ramesh's injury, who had also competed in the mixed 4x400m race earlier, are yet to be disclosed.
India will get another opportunity on Monday during the second round of Olympics qualifications.
Teams that finished outside the top two in their respective heats on Sunday will vie for another shot at securing a spot in the Paris Games.
The teams are anticipated to be divided into three heats, with the top two from each heat securing a Paris ticket.
In addition to the men's 4x400m relay, India also fell short of making the Paris Olympics cut in the women's 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relays on the first day of qualifications.
Both Indian teams will have to await Monday's second round of Olympics qualifications.
In the mixed 4x400m event, the Indian quartet of Rajesh Ramesh, Rupal Chaudhary, Avinash Krishna Kumar, and Jyothika Sri Dandi finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 3 minutes and 20.36 seconds.
Subsequently, the Indian quartet of Vithya Ramraj, M R Poovamma, Jyothika Sri Dandi, and Subha Venkatesan finished fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 29.74 seconds.
The top two teams in each of the four heat races secure berths for the Paris Olympics, scheduled from July 16 to August 11.
Remaining teams from all heats will compete again on Monday for six additional Paris Olympics spots.
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